Welding ring



Feb. 19, 1946. R. H. VON AHRENS 22,725

' WELDING RING Original Fild. Aug. 2, 1943 2 Sheets-She 1 i INVENTOR.

ATTORNE Y R. H. vow AHR EN'i R 22,725

' WELDING RING Original Filed Aug. 2, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 23 Fig. 9

Rotun- H. yon/Anna:

- INVENTOR.

BEST AVAiLABLE COP" Reissued Feb. 19, 1946 J l rial No. 491,093, Augustz, 1943. Application for reissue September 28, '1945, Serial No.

. 6 Claims. (Cl. 285-111) The present invention relates to weldingrings, or chill rings,- and, while they are not necessarily limitedthereto. they are particularly adaptable for facilitating the weldingtogether of, ends of 7 nin In the welding together of pipe ends abacking member, usually in the form of a metal ring, having" an outerdiameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the pipe isinserted part way into the'end of one pipe and the other pipe end isthen slid over'the projecting end of the ring. This ring, overlappingthe gap between the adjacent pipe ends, functions in the manner of abacking strip designed to prevent the molten ring so as to provide a gapfor facilitating the I insertion of a weld rod to the bottom of thegroove in order that the entire end surfaces of the pipe ends may besolidly fused together.

Frequently means are provided directly upon the outer surface of thering for automatically gauging the proper gap distance as the ring isinserted between the pipe ends.

Such welding rings of this type, ashave been devised heretofore, havepossessed numerous disadvantages so that they were unsatisfactory eitheras to cost of manufactureor from the standpoint of usage.

Generally such gauging means consists of a ridge of an increaseddiameter extending circum-. ferentlally around thering which is of awidth corresponding to the width of the gap desired. Not only does theformation of such a ridge upon the ring entail a costly machiningoperation but such a continuous ridge. seriously hinders the formationof a soundweld. It will be understood that the ridge extends upwardlyabove the innermost edge of the pipeand in order to eflect solid fusionof metal between the entire end surfaces of the pipe the ridge. on thewelding ring must be entirely melted down.- Oftentimes a welder willfail in this regard and merely fuse over the top of the ridge with aresultant imperfect weld.

Other welders, beingoverly careful in the melting down of the ridge,will fuse entirely through- A further object of the invention is toprovide a relatively inexpensive welding ring having gauging meansprovided on the peripheral surface which will not interfere with thewelding operation and promote the formation of perfect weld Jointsextending across the full section of the pipe ends and throughout thefull circumference thereof. I

More specifically, is an object of the invention to provide a new andimproved welding ring having a plurality of .circumferentially spacedgauging projections on the outer surface and which are engaged by thepipe ends at only substantially point contacts so as not to appreciablyobstruct access by weld metal to the innermost edge of the pipe ends.

In accordance with the present invention a welding ring is providedhaving a plurality of relatively small protuberances projecting from theouter cylindrical surface of the ring and which are adapted to beabutted by the ends of the pipe sections to be welded together forspacing them apart a. desired distance. The protuberances are ofrelatively small extent and mass so that they are readily melted down inthe ordinary weldin procedure without requiring any special precau tionto reduce them to the innermost edge of the pipe end surfaces.Furthermore, these protuberanees are engaged by the pipe ends only atpoints of limited contact area so that fusion with the inner edges ofthe pipe ends is not appreciably hindered thereby. The protuberances maybe formed in any way so as to be firmly united to the ring surface andare only of such mass that they will not be sheared of! upon fitting ofthe ring into the ends of the pipe.

For a consideration of what is believed novel and inventive theattention is directed to the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, while the features of novelty will bepointed out with greater particularity in the appended claims.

. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are a series of cross sectional views of differentwelding'rings according to modifica tions of the invention; Fig. 9 is alongitudinal sectional view illustrating a pair of ends of heavy dutypipe which are to be joined and a welding BEST AVAiLABLE COP ring foruse therewith constructed in accordance with another modification of theinvention; Fig. 10 is a side view of the ring shown in Fig. 9.

Referring first to Fig. l of the drawings, a welding ring constructed inaccordance with one form of the invention is illustrated at Iii insertedin position between a pair ofadJacent pipe ends ii and I 2 which are tobe welded together. The ring i is formed of a suitabler'netal havingsuch an outer diameter as to fit snugly against the inner walls of thepipe end.

Means are provided onthe outer surfaceiof the ring for projectingbetween the pipe ends so as to space them a slight distance apart forfacilitating the fusion of weld metal with the innermost edges of thepipe and sections. While not necessarily limited thereto, the provisionof the gap is particularly desirable in electric arc welding proceduresin that the weld rod may readily be inserted to the bottom of thegroove.

As illustrated in Fig. l. the gap gauging means comprises a plurality ofspaced protuberances 13 extending in radial alignment from the outercircumference of the ring and substantially centrally of the ringsurface. The protuberant portions are of a relatively small size both asto height and as to length in the circumferential direction, while thewidth of the portions, in the axial direction, is, of course. limited tothe width of the gap spacing.

edges of the pipe ends. y

A further important feature of the invention comprises the formation ofthe protuberances example, for a time inch pipe, the ring may be Vone-eighth inch thick in which case the protubdown to the innermostedges of the pipe, a sumcient thickness of metal will remain in the ringfor fusion with the weld metal and for normally preventing penetrationtherethrough to the bottom of the punch recesses. This is illustratedmore clearly inthe enlarged view of Fig. i which illustrates a completedweld joint at IS, the depth' of fusion into the welding ring i0 beingshort of penetration into the punch recess iii in the reverse side ofthe ring. It will readily be appreciated, however, that even though thefusion should penetrate through to the bottom of the recess, .the recessis of such small diameter that any droplet of molten weld metal tendingto seep therethrough will contact on all-sides with the sides pf therecess and be rapidly chilled thereby before having a chance'to drip outinto the interior of the pipe with the formation of an icicle. Even ifnot chilled, a convex meniscus will be formed due to the surface tensionof the molten metal which will resist the tendency of the fluid masstofiow freely into the interior of the pipe. It has been observed thatif the diameter of the punched protuberances, and hence of the recessformed thereby, is no greater than the normal gap spacing between thepipe ends, the molten metal will not flow from the lower end of therecess substantially before the full thickness of ill by punching orstamping from the reverse side of the ring to a depth approximately halfway through the thickness of the ring and extruding the protuberanceswith the further aid internal diameter of the pipe with which the ringis to be used. To insert the ring into the pipe ends it is compressed sothat, following insertion and released, it will expand to engage firmlywith the inside wall of the pipe and stay in place while the other pipeend is assembled over-the opposite end of the ring. When the ring isinserted in position between a pair of pipeends the gap between thebeveled ends I is substantially closed so as not to provide an openingin the bottom of the groove through which molten weld metal may leakinto the interior of the pipe.

The stock from which the welding rings iii are formed may vary somewhat,depending, of course,

upon the size of the pipe being dealt with. For

the ring adiacent the recess is completely melted through. This inherenttendency ofv the molten metal against flowing through the round openingis particularly true in the case of a ring which is relatively thick ascompared with the dlame ter of the punched protuberance as illustratedin the drawings, the thickness of the ring being at least equal to halfof the diameter of the protuberance. This is another important advantageresulting from stamping out only relatively small diameter protuberancesfrom the outer ring surface.

It is obvious that only -a relatively few protuberances are required toextend from the outer surface of the weldding for efiecting the gapspacing between the pipe ends. The number should be at least three,however.

The rings may be formed from stock dimension flat bar of rectangularcross section, as illustrated in Fig. 5, though it is preferred that theinner edges be beveled as shown in either Fig. 6 or 7. These edges maybe beveled to any angle by a simple milling cutter before the flatlengths are cut and rolled into the ring shape. The halfoval shapeillustrated in Fig. 8 may also be em ployed, it being a standard stockshape and consequently obviates the necessity for any machiningoperation to reduce the edge thickness. The beveled or half-oval crosssectional ring shapes are desirable if the welding rings are to be usedin forming joints in pipe not having belied-out ends in that turbulencein the fluid flow through the pipe joints are thereby minimized.

In the case of pipes of heavy wall section, requiring the use ofrelatively large diameter weld rod,- it maybe necessary to provide awider gap between the pipe ends than in the case of thin walled pipe.While protuberant portions of a width, or diameter, corresponding tothat of the wider gap may be struck out from the welding, ring, it ispreferred not to unduly enlarge the size of these portions. To do sowould mean the 'formation of a larger recess in the underside of thering as well as appreciably increasing the mass of the protuberancesthemselves which is undesirable. Under such circumstances it ispreferred to and 24 respectively. The protuberances of each row arepreferably staggered with respect to those of the other row, the tworows being ofiset relative to each other to such an extent that thedistance between the oppositely facing sides of the protuberances of thetwo rows corresponds with the width of gap desired to be providedbetween the adjacent pipe ends. By staggering the protuberances of thetwo rows the width of the gap may be varied from a minimum correspondingto the diameter ofa single protuberance, in which case all of theprotuberances extend in a common line, .to any greater desired width bymerely spreading the two groups of protuberances apart. The same set ofdies may be used for punching the protuberances of both rows thuseliminating the necessity for providing a separate set of dies for eachparticular gap spacing desired. Arranged in this manner, theprotuberances may be made of a minimum size merely sufficient to providestops-for the pipe ends to space them a desired distance apart. Withsuch an arrangement of the gap gauging protuberant portions all of theadvantages as described in connection with the welding ring Ill areretained while a gap spacing of any width may be provided thereby.

Having described the invention in what are considered to be preferredembodiments thereof, it is desired that it be understood that thespecific examples shown and described are merely illustrative and thatthe invention may be carried out in other ways. It is intended in thefollowing claims to cover all such variations and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A welding ring comprising an annular metallic member having acylindrical outer face, a plurality of integral substantially roundprotuberances punched out from the midsection of said member and spacedcircumferentially about the outer surface thereof, said protuberancesbeing formed by punching from the opp site side of said member, theprotuberances being adapted to auge apart a pair of adjacent pipe endsto be welded together and the cross sectional shape thereof beingeflective to substantially preclude flow of metal through the recessformed by the punching operation, the diameter of the recess formed bythe punching out of the protuberances being sufllciently small so thatsurface tension alone prevents passage of molten metal therethrough whenthe protuberance is melted away by the welding process.

2. A welding ring comprising an annular metallic member having acylindrical outer face, a plurality of integral substantially roundprotuberances punched out from the midsection of said member and spacedcircumferentially about the outer surface, thereof, said protuberancesbeing formed by punching from the opposite ber, the protuberances havinga diameter no greater than the gap to be formed thereby between a pairof adjacent pipe ends to be welded together and the cross sectionalshape thereof being efiective to substantially preclude flow of metalthrough the recess formed by'the punching operation, the diameter of therecess formed by the punching out of the proturberances beingsufliciently small so that surface tension alone prevents passage ofmolten metal therethrough when the protuberance is melted away by thewelding process.

3. A Welding ring comprising an annular metallic member having acylindrical outerface, said member having outwardly taperedcircumferential edges and being relatively thick in its midsection, aplurality of substantially round protuberances punched out from saidmidsection and spaced circumferentially about the outer,

surface of said member, said protuberancesbeing formed by punching fromthe opposite side of said member to a depth corresponding substantiallyto one-half of the thickness of said midsection whereby theprotuberances are integrally united with said member throughout thecircumference of said protuberances by a thickness of metalcorresponding to substantially one-half the thickness of said member,the protuberances being adapted to gauge apart a pair of adjacent pipeends to be welded together and the cross sectional shape thereof beingeffective to substantially preclude flow of metal through the recessformed by the punching operation, the diameter of the recess formed bythe punchin out of the protuberances being sufficiently small so thatsurface tension alone prevents passage of molten metal therethrough whenthe pro tuberance is melted away by the welding process.

4. A welding ring comprising an annular metallic member, a plurality ofprotuberances punched out from the midsection of said member and spacedcircumeferentially about the outer surface thereof, said protuberancesbeing formed by punching with a round punch from the opposite side ofsaid member, the protuberances being adapted to gaugeapart a pair ofadlacent pipe ends to be welded together and the cross-sectional roundshape of the recess formed by the punching operation being effective tosubstantially preclude flow of metal therethrough in the event theprotuberance is melted through in the welding operation, the thicknessof said member beingno greater than approximately one-eighth inch, thediameter of the recess formed by the punching out of the protuberancesbeing no greater than twice the thickness of the g. 5: A welding ringcomprising an metallic member, a plurality of protuberances punched outfrom the midsection of said member and spaced circumferentially aboutthe outer sur- -face thereof, said protuberances being formed bypunching with a round punch from the opposite side of said member, theprotuberances having a width no greater than the gap to be formedthereby between a pair of adjacent pipe ends to be welded together, thecross-sectional round shape of the recess formed by the punching emer-voi molten metal therethro'ugh in the event the protuberance is meltedthrough during the welding process.

6. A welding ring comprising an annular midsection whereby theprotuberances are integrally' united with said member throughout thecircumference of said protuberances by a. thickness of metalcorresponding to substantially oneball the thickness 01' said membe theprotuber- ROBERT H. VON AHRENS.

